Sarosh Kapadia – ex-Chief Justice – passes away

Former Chief Justice of India Sarosh Kapadia passed away early Tuesday. His funeral will take place at Doogarwadi Towers of Silence, in Mumbai at 3.45 pm.

As Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sarosh Homi Kapadia left behind a legacy of unimpeachable integrity, discipline and principles.

He had become CJI after K G Balakrishnan. His stint had perhaps the most landmark judgments on institutional integrity and on a host of other issues. He espoused the cause of institutional integrity in the appointment of highly placed officials soon after becoming the CJI in 2010. His other landmark verdicts included the Vodafone case and the five-judge bench ruling in media trial.

Kapadia’s integrity was his most important and only asset as he once said. He was born into a poor Parsi family soon after India’s independence.

Working from the grassroots at a law firm, his was a life of discipline and work ethics that took him to the highest echelons of the judiciary. His lunch in the early days even consisted of mere roasted chana at Mumbai’s Flora Fountain opposite the Bombay high court.

Post-retirement in September 2012 Kapadia didn’t take any post on any committee or quasi-judicial body but worked quietly from his Mumbai office in arbitration.

At a public speech post retirement, he advocated a “minimum standard of fairness” as the “single largest” stimulant for economic growth. Fairness after all was his forte.